Apr 03, 2020  Civilization V, Cities: Skylines, and Total War: Shogun 2 are probably your best bets out of the 9 options considered. 'Endless scenarios and replayability' is the primary reason people pick Civilization V over the competition. This page is powered by a knowledgeable community that helps you make an informed decision. Jul 15, 2019 Best iOS & iPadOS Strategy games 2019! Watch more iPhone & iPad Videos here: Join th. Jan 18, 2020  “STARCRAFT II” is a classy strategy game. The best part about it is the amazing intergalactic warfare where you’ve to put your fighting skill on full display. With the cut-throat multiplayer competition, you will have to plan a killer strategy and execute it perfectly to grab the victory.

25 essential games to have in your iOS collection

Updated February 03, 2020: Post entry tweaks

Most people would probably associate the strategy game genre with the PC. They might well conclude that the sheer complexity of these hardcore games requires a mouse, keyboard, and monitor set-up.

But that's a load of outdated piffle. Strategy games can be as intuitive, streamlined, and accessible to a mainstream audience as they please. Just look at a list of the most popular mobile games of the past decade (by any metric) for confirmation of that fact. The iPhone and iPad stores are rife with great strategy games.

The likes of Clash of Clans, Mobile Strike, Summoners War, Boom Beach and Game of War: Fire Age have all raked in more than $1 billion in their lifetimes.

This doesn't mean that mobile strategy games need necessarily be flimsy, shallow or overtly casual affairs though. It's possible to wring real depth out of a modern touchscreen device.

The following list of mobile strategy games covers the entire gamut, from casual city builders to hardcore turn-based tactics. That's the beauty of the mobile strategy game scene - its sheer variety.

We haven't even included tower defence in our deliberations, as that's a thriving sub-genre that deserves (and indeed has received) its own separate list.

Here, then, is a list of our favourite mobile strategy games for iPhone and iPad. We're quite aware that there are loads of stone-cold classics and popular favourites that we've left off. We only had 25 slots to fill, after all, and we always try to reflect what's current.

If there's a mobile strategy game you think should be on this list, let us know in the comments section below.

Sid Meier's Civilization VI

It's Civilization VI on your iPad. Like, the actual Civilization VI, not some streamlined approximation. It's nothing less than one of the best and deepest strategy games on any platform.

XCOM: Enemy Within

XCOM has a reputation for being one of the finest squad-based strategy games around, with tense turn-based battles rendered in glorious 3D. This iOS conversion brings it to mobile without compromise.

FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL tasks you with running your very own spaceship, allocating resources to the departments that need it most. But the real thrill is that you have to do this while fleeing through a hostile star system.

Iron Marines

The maker of the peerless Kingdom Rush series proves that it can do classic RTS as well as its does tower defence. Iron Marines is brilliantly balanced, great to look at, and generally quite special.

Bad North

Bad North is a uniquely brilliant mish-mash of RTS, tower defence and roguelike elements as you defend your island communities from Viking attack.

SteamWorld Heist

SteamWorld Heist demonstrates that strategy games can be a zoomed-in, action-packed and even funny. This brilliant 2D squad-based game as you taking on robotic pirates with expertly placed ricochet shots.

Invisible, Inc.

Klei combines turn-based strategy with high-tech stealth in this beautiful isometric cyber-punk adventure.

ROME: Total War

One of the greatest and deepest real time strategy games ever made makes its way onto iPad, and it works shockingly well. ROME: Total War is the real deal.

Warbits

It doesn't look like we'll ever get Advance Wars on mobile, but Warbits is as close as it gets. This is colourful, intuitive turn-based strategy with a surprising amount of tactical depth.

Dungeon Warfare 2

You could well make the argument that Dungeon Warfare 2 is a tower defence game. But constructing the ultimate death-filled dungeon here proves to be so much more strategic and nuanced than your average lane runner.

Chaos Reborn: Adventures

A dauntingly deep and involving strategy game that punishes mistakes and rewards smart thinking. Its hex-based 3D battles have an impressive amount of tactical scope.

Tropico

Easily the best city builder on the market, Tropico is a richly detailed, responsive, engaging, and fun PC port that feels perfectly at home on iPad. It looks and sounds beautiful, too.

Tharsis

Strategy games don't need to be ponderous and small scale. First Strike concerns a global nuclear conflict, and each battle can be swept through in frighteningly quick time.

Pocket City

Though it's less viscerally impressive than Tropico, Pocket City remains an absolute treat of a premium city builder. In particular, it manages to combine intuitiveness with strategic depth better than most.

Sid Meier's Starships

Sci-fi strategy on a grand scale, Sid Meier's Starships has got interplanetary diplomacy, deep space exploration, and plenty of pew pew laser battles.

Clash of Clans

Oooh, controversial pick. But there's no denying that Clash has done something super interesting with the strategy genre, making it truly social and accessible, and making defence as important as all-out attack.

Crush Your Enemies

Pocket real time strategy in its purest form, Crush Your Enemies whittles things down to a series of feisty minutes-long battles. It's just not a sharply-made RTS, but a funny game filled with foul-mouthed, half-drunk barbarians.

Hero Academy 2

Hero Academy 2 starts slow, but blossoms into a brilliantly tactical turn-based experience. It's also an extremely polished, layered affair.

Plague Inc.

We're all used to defending life in our strategy games - Plague Inc. tasks you with destroying as much of it as possible by spreading and mutating a horrible virus. It's dark, man.

Frozen Synapse

Best Free Strategy Games On Mac App Store

Some strategy games simulate the big, the epic, the expansive. Frozen Synapse goes in tight, letting you plan the individual seconds of a frantic gunfight between computer simulated warriors.

Egypt: Old Kingdom

Star Trek: Fleet Command is a slick 4X mobile strategy game with sympathetic monetisation and a flexible mission-based progression system. It uses its license well too.

Battleplans

Battleplans is a thoroughly modern mobile strategy game hybrid, blending RTS, MOBA and base defence elements into a gloriously colourful whole.

Wild Beyond

What initially appears to be another Clash Royale clone soon reveals itself to be a lot deeper. It's got an engrossing single player campaign, and there's a real flow to its steadily branching battles.

The Bonfire: Forsaken Lands

An engaging and intuitive strategy game that offers genuine consequences for your decisions as you strive to keep your village alive and thriving. It's also beautiful, in its own sparse way.

Xenowerk Tactics

A brilliant turn-based strategy game set within Pixelbite's tense sci-fi Xenowerk universe. There's more than a hint of XCOM to its tight squad manoeuvring, but with a slightly more arcadey edge.

RELATED STORIES

When it comes to strategy games on Mac, there are a lot of impressive choices. Some of these are available through Apple Arcade, while others are just a download away from the Mac App Store. Here are our current favorites.

Civilization V

When it comes to turn-based strategy games, you can't do better than Sid Meier's series of Civilization titles. In this fifth edition, you begin with 20 historical leaders, and your job is to slowly take over the world from the dawn of man into the space age. Along the way, you'll get to discover surprising new civilizations and wonders, excellent gameplay systems, and much more.

Currently, Civilization V offers 10 in-app purchases, including Brave New World and Gods and Kings. With these options, you get to decide just how far you want to go through the game.

How far will you go?

Civilization V

Diplomacy or War?

Sid Meier's Civilization V offers a brilliant story that's advanced further with a lengthy listing of in-app purchases big and small.

Source: Aspyr Media, Inc.

And here we go again! Similar to the previous installments, Civilization VI has one goal for players: to create and maintain a lasting civilization. In this most recent installment, you achieve victory through military domination, technological superiority, or cultural influence. It offers a nice mix of new and old civilizations. There's also renewed emphasis on the terrain and fresh artificial intelligence mechanics for computer-controlled opponents.

The game's first expansion pack, Rise and Fall, features entry into a prosperous Golden Age and terrifying Dark Age. There's also a Heroic Age. The second expansion pack, The Gathering Storm, features ecosystem difficulties that could impact the entire planet, including floods, volcanoes, and more.

The newest in the series

Civilization VI

Bigger than ever

This game is the newest in the long Civilization series and was first introduced to Mac in 2016.

Source: Dinosaur Polo Club

Being stuck in traffic is never fun unless you're playing Mini Motorways! The strategy simulation game gives you the power to keep existing roads clear while also expanding your digital city by adding new locations and road networks.

Featuring different color modes, including colorblind and night, Mini Motorways is for anyone with an imagination. Better still, like all Apple Arcade games, it comes without in-app purchases or any additional costs.

They will come

Mini Motorways

Create your city

As your city expands, make sure it remains easy to get from point A to point B. Otherwise, no one will be happy.

Source: Feral Interactive

Offering 3D real-time battles on land and at sea, Total War: Empire allows you to lead one of 12 great nations. Your success is determined by your diplomatic skills and military force, when necessary. Set in the 18th century, the game allows you to conquer overseas territories to establish colonies and profitable trade networks. Along the way, you'll need to learn more about your enemies and beat them on the battlefield accordingly.

First introduced on Mac in 2014, Total War: Empire is the fifth installment in the Total War series, which, as a whole, comes recommended. The turn-based strategy game was released for Windows in 2009. Before purchasing the game, just check the Mac App Store for compatibility with your Mac, since some older machines aren't supported.

Non-stop action

Total War: Empire

How will you succeed?

Empire is a thrilling installment in the Total War series. Just make sure your Mac supports it!

Source: Blindflug

In this multi-player real-time strategy game, you are fighting for control of distant planets. You have just seven minutes to destroy your opposition or the world as you know it will collapse and explode right before your eyes.

To accomplish your goal, you slowly gain access to rockets, tanks, and stealth generators. Futuristic troops are also available if you can find a way to unlock them.

Stellar Commanders is currently one of the best-reviewed Apple Arcade games available. Download it today.

Fly those rockets

Stellar Commanders

The world needs your help

You have seven minutes until success or destruction. Which path will you take?

Source: Tortuga Team

Old-school meets the 21st century in this impressive turn-based strategy game from Tortuga Team. Featuring a unique system of dynamic turn-based battles that last no more than 15 minutes, Spaceland features 10 different enemies from alien animals to unnerving monsters.

Offering a squad of space rangers, each with a unique fighting style, the game includes an exciting backstory about a mysterious planet, which you must protect. Use rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and more to get the job done. Fail, and you must start again!

Single player fun

Spaceland

Protect this fascinating world

Shoot, kick, blow up, and destroy and achieve greatness in this Apple Arcade game.

Source: iMore

In This War of Mine, you aren't a great commander or a space fighter looking to protect the outer reaches of the universe. Instead, you're just one in a group of civilians trying to survive in a besieged city. Along the way, you must struggle with the lack of food, water, and medicine. At the same time, there's a constant worry that snipers and hostile scavengers could cause further pain.

This War of Mine has been well-received since it was first released and continues to receive kudos with each new expansion. While it's not necessarily a 'fun' game to play, per say, it tells a relevant and emotional story that should not be missed.

Can you survive?

The War of Mine

There's no escape

Can you find and explore all of the different outcomes of the game?

What's your favorite?

Strategy games and Macs go together well. Which games are you currently enjoying on your desktop or laptop? Let us know in the comments below. Perhaps we'll add it to our list on a future update!

Best Games For Mac

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Best Mac Strategy Games Free

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